Anime Something that is becoming quite popular with Gamers is Anime. Anime is Japanese cartoons, normally targeted at a more mature audience and has a lot in common with Japanese games. Here I will take a look at Anime and how it ties in with games. Anime supposedly came around in the 1960’s. Japan was recovering from the war and a lot of American imports were seeping into the country. One thing that made its way across the oceans was American cartoons. Disney movies and shorts were very popular at the time, and soon Japanese animation studios began to appear. Supposedly the first popular animated show in Japan was Astro Boy, the story of a robot boy who fought forces of evil robots. The show was massive hit in its time, and even got translated into English (recentaly shown on CBBC). The Japanese continued to make a new and different animated series. There was an anime series for Baseball, Car Racing, Adventure, if you could tie a plot to something, it got an animated series. It wasn’t till about 1980 that Anime started to show properly outside of Japan. In America, Japanese Language Cable channels would pick up certain episodes of Anime and viewers, even if they couldn’t speak Japanese, watched intently. The audiences were rapt with the different style of animation and sometimes more realistically violent cartoons, as on the most part Cartoons in America were kept to just Disney Shorts and Warner Brothers Loony Tunes. Newsletters began to be produced and small Underground Anime clubs began to surface. Soon the video recorder was released and club members where getting sent the newest Anime from Japan. These tapes got passed around and swapped at the Anime clubs and started to spread out further. Then people who were able to get hold of video recording equipment began to add their own subtitles to the tapes, producing some of the first ‘Fan-Subbs’. Now as more people were able to understand the plots of the show it started to pick up more momentum and Anime looked like it was almost about to break it in a mainstream market. Companies like Manga Entertainment (the companies name managed to confuse people as to what the shows were, Manga is actually the Japanese word for Comic) and MVM Officially Translated and Re-Dubbed several Anime Movies and Series. Sadly the companies only picked up certain Niche titles, normally only containing violence and sex. In the mid nineties anime seemed to dry up in the US and UK, with only a few titles getting translated and very small sections of shops dedicated to displaying anime videos. But in the late nineties (about 1999) cable and satellite channels began showing anime titles such as Dragonball Z and Gundam Wing and anime began to pick up again. The people who watched these shows soon began to search out fellow fans on the internet, swapping episodes with them and basically spreading the word of anime even further. The anime companies began to pay attention to this and soon loads of new (and old titles) began to be released on DVD. Now anime shows have become a big business again, with new titles being released every month. Anime and Games One thing that seems to have helped bring about this new Anime Revival is Games. A lot of Video Games that come out of Japan have either had an Anime series based of them, or are themselves based off an Anime series. Also a lot of the Games use Anime style art, especially RPG’s which will use the Anime style for the characters portraits. Here’s a quick low down of Games that have been turned into Anime series, Anime series that have been turned into Games and how good any of them actually are. Games > Anime Pokemon Probably one of the biggest culprits of the Anime revival, Pokemon was a massive hit and drew a younger audience into the Anime phenomenon. The Anime series followed the games plot pretty well, focusing around a young Pokemon trainer who was a grand adventure to become the greatest trainer of them all. But the anime fleshed out the games themes even more, adding personalities to the monsters, giving them their own calls and such and just making the Pokemon world a better fleshed out one. Its also safe to say that the game sold a lot better thanks a lot to the show, and the game was even updated a year later to follow the show more closely, adding characters and plot events straight out of the anime. Pokemon was a good conversion of a game into an anime and even surpassed the original game in content and realised the world a lot better then the game. Sonic X Sonic the Hedgehog has had several American animated series to his name. The Original ‘Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog’ series was a hit, and the so called ‘SATAM’ Sonic the Hedgehog series is still popular with fans now. But this time the country of his creation has had a crack at doing an animated Sonic series, the first Sonic Anime series (but technically the second Sonic Anime, as there was a two part movie made in the anime style). The series takes a break away from the plots of the game and sets the game in the real world. Sonic and all his friends have been transported to the real world by the power of Chaos Control (if you’ve played Sonic Adventure 2 you will know what this is). They meet up with a young boy named Chris who helps to hide them from the general public. Sadly for them, Dr Robotnik and some of his robotic creations have been transported to the real world and it’s not long before he begins to make trouble for Sonic and Co. This series is well drawn, but doesn’t seem to tie into the games that much at all. Ok, the characters are there, but the general plot of each episode is very similar to old Saturday morning kids shows and has nothing to offer to older fans of the game series. And don’t get me started on the really bad dubbing of the English series (Tails’ voice actor should have been shot) Darkstalkers / Vampire Saviour Capcoms classic beat-em up has also been made into an anime series, albeit for only four episodes. This mini series took the main themes of the supernatural fight fest and gave it its own little spin. Sadly this meant certain characters had there loyalties changed (Lord Raptor seemed to become a good guy) and the focus from Morrigan the Succubus being the main character of the series was changed to Donavon the Vampire Hunter. This was a strange move as Morrigan was a very popular character and Donavon isn’t exactly Mr personality. A lot of the characters trademark moves do appear in the anime and the animation is quite nice, but anyone who’s a big fan of the games original story may feel disappointed at the changes in characters personalities. Street Fighter; The Animated Movie Another of Capcoms trademark beat-em ups also got an Anime outing, but this time as a movie. Ryu reprises his role form the games as the main protagonist, a fighter who lives to fight the strongest warriors. But unbeknownst to him M.Bison (Vega in the original Japanese version) was to use his power to take over the world. The translation from game to anime has been extremely successful here. The plots and characters being lifted straight from the game, including how Chun Li is looking for her fathers killer, how Ken is competing with Ryu to be the strongest and how Vega (Balrog in the original Japanese, strange how characters names revolve) is the vainest man alive. The plot has then been fleshed out with great fight scenes and gives some fanboys something they’ve always wanted; Chun Li in a shower scene. There are a few problems with the translation though. Certain characters make ‘blink-and-you-will-miss-them’ appearance in the film, making some people think why did they bother. There is also some daftness with certain scenes (why would M.Bison be driving a truck?!). But otherwise this is a great translation from Game to Anime. Don’t bother looking for the semi follow up movie ‘Street Fighter Alpha’ as it totally ruins the Street Fighter story line and leaves the viewer unsatisfied. Gungrave This Playstation game has been stooped in Anime ever since its creation. The creator of the legendary anime Trigun drew the character designs and all the cut scenes in the games were done as Anime shorts. Now it’s finally got its own series. The anime series details the creation of ‘Beyond the Grave’, the main character from the game. It feels in all his background from his mob days and how he went on to become the living dead. Then the series goes on to detail the events of the game. This series is only just coming to the end of its run in Japan, but with its amazing visuals and close ties to the game its become a massive hit. Here’s hoping it gets translated into English soon. Anime > Games Neon Genesis Evangelion This amazing anime series about the end of the world has been turned into a game several times, with varying degrees of success. ‘Girlfriend of Steel’ was one of the first Evangelion Games (I use Game here very lightly) to come out on both the SEGA Saturn and the PC. The game was really just an interactive episode, detailing Shinji Ikari’s first girlfriend. Its drawn really well and feels like a proper episode of the series, but sadly you don’t do much other then sit about and stare at the screen. You occasionally get some options which can change the direction that the story goes very slightly, but its nothing to write home about. ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ for the N64 is a game of all the action series from the 26 episode series and the two movies. You play as all three Evangelion units in several different styles of game, including the standard beat em up form and a shooting game. Too bad the game is so slow the player will be bored before they even finish the first level. I’m a die-hard Evangelion fan and I couldn’t even be bothered to play through the first level. There is also several ‘Growth Games’ based off the series. A growth game involves the player looking after a character and guiding him or her through their daily life and just effecting their personalities. The first two games let you raise the female protagonists of the series, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Sohryu, but the latest game in the series (titled ‘Shinseiki Evangelion Shinji Ikusie Keikaku’. Catchy) lets you raise the main character Shinji Ikari. I haven’t had any personal experience with the games myself (there all in Japanese) so I refrain on commenting on how good they are. Evangelion is a good example of how Anime series can inspire several different types of game and still sell, as all these titles have been smash hits in Japan. Dragonball Z Another animated series that has transcended several different types of game genre. The plot of the animated series revolved around Goku as he fought off the many attempts of world conquest from increasingly strong villains, so its not surprise that this Anime spawned its fair share of beat em ups. ‘Dragonball Z Super Butoden 1, 2 and 3’ were all beat-em ups on the Super Nintendo. Each game covered a saga from the series and had the player fight through all the opponents they fought in the Anime. It had many great features that hadn’t been seen in a beat-em up before, like flying combat, but the control system was very basic and a match could be one by just pressing ‘fireball’. The graphics were very nice however and the sprites were good representations of their Animated versions, and sounds bytes from the show added to the atmosphere. Some of the better DBZ Beat-Em Ups. ‘Dragonball Z Ultimate Battle 22+Dragoball GT’ are possibly two of the worst fighting games in existence (that’s why I’ve put the two together). Both on the Playstation, the first is a 2D beat-em up which is about as fun to play as wearing thumb screws. Trying to get a character to just jump was a physical challenge for me and after five minutes of playing the game I started to get pains in my arms. The graphics were sub Snes in look and the music wasn’t to fantastic either. Dragonball GT was the series first foray into the 3D Realm and it would probably have been better if they hadn’t bothered. Blocky graphics, slow gameplay, bad collision detection, the list goes on. The only redeeming features of these games is the animated sequence before hand, but I would never pay out £20 for a 3 minute animated sequence. When it looked like there was never going to be a good DBZ game again, up comes ‘Dragonball Z Budokai for the PS2’. This game follows the first 3 DBZ Saga’s (Sayien Saga, Namek/Freeza Saga and Android/Cell Saga) exactly, putting in 3D scenes of the original animated action. You will switch around the characters where applicable in the story line and even get the chance to pull of some of the legendary moves. The control system is simple and easy to get used to, but not as basic as the controls on the old 2D games. A game any DBZ fan should pick up. ‘Dragonball Z: Legacy of Goku’ for the GBA is an RPG version of the anime in much the same vein as Nintendo’s ‘Legend of Zelda’ games. You play as Goku and walk around, blow bad guys up, pick things up for quests, blow more bad guys up then blow bosses up. Its not to difficult of a game and you can easily complete it in a few hours, but it’s a decent game to carry the DBZ name. Ranma 1/2 Ranma ½ is one of the more bizarre anime series. Its about the young Ranma Saotome, a martial arts student who, whilst training, falls into a cursed spring. Now every time he gets doused in cold water he becomes a girl. This is a big problem for him, especially since his father (who also fell into a cursed spring and now becomes a Panda) has arranged him to get married. Turning into a girl every so often doesn’t help charm a girl. So what type of game would you get from a series like this? A beat-em up of course! ‘Ranma ½’ for the SNES is a pretty generic beat-em up featuring the cast of the Anime in nicely rendered form. You beat up many of the opponent’s Ranma faces in the series, each with their own slightly comical moves, and that’s about it really. There is a new story line for the game, and that should be enough to grab fans of the anime, but otherwise its just a really pretty beat-em up that doesn’t try anything new. There is also a Puzzle game of Ranma ½ available on the SNES, and is a pretty standard ‘Puyo Pop’ rip-off, except made more fiddily. Again, nice looking, but nothing that breaks the mould. Gundam One of the biggest Anime shows in Japan, Gundam has spun a massive marketing web, and this has broken into the gaming arena many a time. There is way to many Gundam games to go into detail on here, so I will just pick the biggest ones. ‘Gundam Wing: Eternal Duel’ (SNES) is a beat-em up based off the Gundam Wing era of the series. You can pick from any of the main Gundams from the series and pit them against each other in combat. This game looks fantastic and plays like a dream. Sound effects are spot on from the series and you can even spot moves that have been based off pieces from the animation. The game also adds something different to the beat-em up formula and adds a bullet cache. Get far enough away from an opponent and you can unload a hail of bullets into them. This can be quite effective against opponents who like to run away, but the bullets aren’t infinite so you don’t want to rely on these forever. One of the best Gundam Games Another Gundam game for the SNES is ‘Gundam V’, which, unlike Eternal Duel, isn’t great. It’s a sub standard scrolling beat-em up. The graphics on this game are really bland and the gameplay is slow. The Gundam you play as moves at about 1 mile per hour and by the time you’ve got to the other side of the screen you will be asleep. The controls are also really awkward and you will get fed up of this game in minutes. ‘Gundam Battle Assault’ for the Playstation finally brought Gundam games back up to their former high quality. Another beat-em up, this time you get the choice to play as mobile suits from nearly every Gundam Series. Great graphics and music really make this game, and the gameplay itself is fantastic. The movement of the Gundams in gam is really realistic, but doesn’t slow the gameplay down, which is great. ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation Vs Zeon’ for the PS2 is an action game that puts the player straight behind the controls of the original Gundam. Playing through a massive selection of scenarios taken straight from the original series you must either fight the forces of Zeon as the Earth Federation of conquers the Earth Federation as Zeon. Maps look fantastic, if a bit small, and you can destroy lots of the scenery. The mobile suits have been accurately recreated and armed and there is a variety of different set ups you can choose to get the perfect mobile suit for you. Finally, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous! These do look like proper machines of war and the opening cinema will leave some peoples jaws on the floor. If you’re a Gundam fan you must own this game! Tenchi Muyo The romantic comedy series doesn’t get a beat-em up game like most of the Anime series I’ve looked at here, but rather an RPG. A mysterious girl has captured little Sasami and it’s your job to find out where she’s been taken. This is a completely new story line and fits in well with the themes set in the anime. You can play as all of the main cast who use some of their signature weapons from the series and also have some tongue in cheek special attack’s (like Washu turning into a nurse and attacking opponents with an over sized syringe). The sprites are SD (super deformed) versions of their anime versions and really suit the game. Its nice and bright and just mimics the anime series perfectly. Again, if you’re a fan of this series, play this game. Anime and Game in One! Looking at all the above examples you can see how some games and anime’s go hand in hand. But most of the time both projects are made at totally different times, some even years and decades later (the original Gundam Series was released in 1979, Gundam: Federation vs Zeon was released in 2002). But now a joint Game/Anime project has been realised. Project .hack is here. The idea behind this series is to release an Anime and a Game at the same time that tie in closely. The Anime is not based off the game, and the game is not based off the anime, but both are set in the same world. The story behind the game and anime is that a game called ‘The World’ has become a big hit. Players join together all across the planet to go adventuring in this virtual world. But something is odd in ‘The World’. Some players are going into unexplained Coma’s, and other weird things are happening in the game. For the anime you follow the adventures of Tsukasa, a player who cant log out of the world. In the game you play as Kite, a Gamer who has watched his friend go into a coma and has now been given a bracelet that lets him ‘hack’ the game. Both the game and the series can be watched separately and still enjoyed, but by watching the anime you can learn area names and other hints for the game, and within the game there are references to stuff that happened in the series. It all just ties in to create one massive fictional world. Then there’s the OVA (Original Video Animation) Series. With each game that comes out you get a free 45 minute DVD that chronicles what happens to a girl who recovered from the coma that has been effecting players of ‘The World’. Now she’s trying to find out what caused the comas and help her boyfriend recover. These OVA’s feature no action in the game and is set completely in the real world. This whole project is a great idea, tying in the links between anime and gaming even closer. You don’t have to watch and play all the different media’s, but by doing so you enjoy the whole experience so much more. Anime and Games: Hand in Hand So as you can see the boundaries between anime and games is starting to get smaller and smaller. With new Game/Anime titles coming out soon (the Anime Series ‘Full Metal Alchemist’ is getting a game now) the links between the two are getting tighter, and fans of both are looking into each others realms and exploring the possibilities.